I really wanted to like this book more. It may have been my own inability to track what was happening with all of the very vague character titles. I really love gothic, folk, and fungal horror so I thought I’d be a bit more invested than I was.

An extended family gathers at Grandfather’s Lake House for a weekend reunion. Nine cousins, eager for some fun away from their parents’ watchful eyes, quickly find that something is amiss after the oldest cousins secretly drink from a confiscated bottle. As their bodies begin to shift unnaturally and strange mushroom rings sprout across the lawn, things quickly spiral into the bizarre. And then there’s The Baby—here, gone, and back again.
Nislow’s novella is a masterclass in eerie atmosphere, where dread lingers on every page. The children’s transformations are unnerving and visceral, with a constant sense of unease as the Lake House seems to claim them, one by one. The tension builds, leaving readers questioning what’s real, what’s imagined, and what is being controlled by forces beyond the children’s control. It’s a propulsive story that keeps you hooked until the last chilling page.
The collective narrator, speaking as "we," "us," and "our," offers a strange and unsettling perspective, adding depth to the mystery. This narrator knows every character’s thoughts and feelings, but their true role and connection to the horrors remain unclear until the startling conclusion. By the end, readers will be left with a sense of disorientation and a haunting discovery that lingers.
Perfect for fans of weird fiction, this novella will appeal to those who enjoy the eerie journey more than a neat resolution. The unsettling atmosphere and unresolved ending may frustrate some, but the growing sense of dread and tension keeps the pages turning. Readers of David Mitchell’s Slade House will find similar vibes here, with a sense of doom and disorientation that builds as the story unfolds.
Verdict: A beautifully strange and horrifying read, Root Rot will leave readers gripped from start to finish. The unsettling transformations and mysterious forces at play will make you feel like one of the cousins, lost in a nightmare that’s impossible to escape. Highly recommended for those who enjoy deeply weird, atmospheric horror.

What a horrific little fever dream of a short story I just read. I have never been so confused yet enthralled at the same time. Everything happened so fast, it just got crazier and crazier. All the sudden I felt lost, and was wondering what was going on in my life, as if I was a part of the book. It had a massive sense of wonder, had me questioning reality, and was just plain horrific. I loved every minute of it. As with any short story, it left me wanting answers, but not in a way that I absolutely needed them? If that makes sense. It was just such and interesting book, I have never read anything like it. Definitely recommend!

Thank you to Creature Publishing for providing me an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This eco-horror novella about a haunted vacation to a lake house is threaded with danger, like an ominous fable. Its cleverly-crafted vagueness makes your imagination run wild.

Told in the plural ‘we’ (so you never quite know who the narrator is, or if you’re hearing from the group of children as a whole), it follows nine siblings and cousins as they explore the rotting grounds of their grandfather’s estate. As time goes on, some of the children begin to notice changes in the others - skin that doesn’t quite fit right, feet that face the wrong direction.

As the reader, you’re given minimal context and left to make sense of the unusual plot yourself. I like this - each reader will take away something different. Personally, I find it powerful that none of the children are called by their names, but only the labels given to them by their place in the family dynamic. The Liar, The Boy Twin, The One With The Beautiful Voice. It’s an interesting take on how we’re easily classified (often wrongly) by the ones closest to us. I also appreciate how well the themes (of being uncomfortable in your own skin and recognising that the inevitability of age and decay are a part of life) came across.

It’s the kind of book you could pick up again and again to unravel its mysteries, noticing new things each time.

Easy five stars. What, how, when, why did things happen? Don't ask me. I already know that this will be one of my top 3 books this year. This was so confusing, eerie, nauseating, scary, and despite all of that kind of comforting in a very weird way. But all of that in the best possible way.

rating 3 ⭐️

i love love love myself a horror book…especially if it has anything to do with body horror and involves fungi. i thought this was so eerie and the whole time i felt just about as thrown around as the characters, in a good way!

the only thing is I felt some parts of the book didn’t make sense to me. i found the writing style to be very intriguing though feeding off more of the emotions and actions of characters. super creepy read!

This was a really unsettling read with a truly interesting, original concept behind it. Recommend for any horror/ weird fiction fans!

I'm not sure I'm smart enough for this book - I definitely had a hard time keeping up. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading Root Rot - it was a very interesting, though complicated, novel!

3,5⭐️

Certified weird book, which I really enjoyed. There are interesting ideas that creates this unique atmosphere – the perspective of children, the anonymity, the strangeness of time and space. I think I will come.back to this story one day, to explore it even further, as it is short, yet impactful.

3.5

What a fun little fever dream of a novella. Root Rot follows a family gathering at a Lake House. No character is ever named and we follow nine children, all cousins, who don't know the reason behind this get together.

The concept and writing style are really creative. As the story unfolds and the kids are not even sure what's happening to them, the reader must find the clues and metaphors to be one step ahead of them. The descriptions are very vivid and the book itself is very atmospheric. I found it successfully claustrophobic.

I love stories that make me write things down and this one did. I was taking notes on who the children were and their dynamics.
I don't think this will be for everyone, but I'd recommend it to every reader who enjoys something on the weirder side and, of course, fans of bizarre horror.

**Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC of Root Rot by Saskia Nislow. Expected pub date March 24, 2025.**

I was really excited to read this novel based on the synopsis-but I quickly realized the writing style was not for me. There are some fairly creepy scenes in the book, however it's just really hard to follow the characters because there are nine cousins and each child has a name like, "the one who runs away" or "the one with the beautiful voice." I would say that each sentence includes one or more "names" so it just became really redundant for me.

I did really like the plot of the story, it has a fever dream type feel to it. Honestly, just think magic mushrooms and fungus. Ultimately this one just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

What a bizarre little book. Folk horror doesn't seem to quite fit, and neither does eco horror (although the book contains elements of both). The plot revolves around a family reunion, with an unnamed Narrator. The children in the house are referred to by what seems to be the Narrator's nicknames for them (The Liar, The Secret Keeper, etc). The book reads like a dopesick fever dream. I never quite knew what was going on, but I was riveted. I'm not 100% sure what was going on, but I do have some theories. If you're into weird horror, give this one a try. 4.25 stars

Root Rot is a wild ride through the heads of quirky characters like The Liar, The Secret Keeper, and The Crybaby. The author’s mind-bending imagery keeps you hooked and confused.

I loved the fresh ideas and the eye-catching cover, but the abstract titles made it hard to keep up with the story. It’s pretty complex, so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

That said, if you’re into weird, dreamy tales, I’d definitely suggest giving it a read. It’s beautifully crafted and a bit offbeat, making it a great choice

“It’s not the growing that makes [the soil] rich: it’s the dying, the rotting. That’s what makes it alive. Isn’t that funny?”

How on earth do I start to sum up this weird, fever dream-like, gothic and twisted fairytale? Everything about it was uncanny, from the characters with no names and the looming atmosphere, to the sheer oddness of what happens and dark images of backwards feet and things just being not quite right.

We broadly follow a family vacation to a grandpa’s house in the woods, and we see the whole thing from the kids’ point of view. We never know the names of the 9 kids, we only know them as The Liar, The Crybaby, The One With the Beautiful Voice and more.

From the start, this story doesn’t sit right - in exactly the sort of way you want a twisted horror tale to make you feel. The kids are off exploring the woods and finding strange mushrooms in the ground, then enduring awkward mealtimes and unsettled nights. They wake up with vague memories of what might have gone on, but are never quite certain of the truth.

And then there’s the mystery of the Baby. Where did she go? How did she end up under the bed? Why is there dirt under her nails.

The more this book goes on, the more unsettling it becomes. The familiar turns mysterious, everything gets darker and more menacing, and the whole thing makes you feel itchy. And so many off-kilter, nightmarish images; familiar faces that are unrecognisable, body parts turned the wrong way, fungi that bleed and look like bodies, and the Baby eating drywall. Random as heck and deeply unsettling.

The writing here is lush - atmospheric and unnerving. At once you’re swept away by its beauty while also left feeling anxious and tense. I can’t even come close to claiming I understood this weird, dark trip, but I certainly enjoyed it. Perhaps most unsettling was the frequent use of ‘we’ in the narration. Was this a tenth child? A random observer? Something else entirely? I don’t know and don’t know if I want to either!

Although horror is not a genre I tend to read, I was blown away by how eerie and creepy this book was. There were few moments where I felt at peace while reading this (in the best way), from the horrifying imagery of the mushrooms to Grandpa's Lake House, to the events of the summer that those kids would never be able to forget. A splendid read!

3.5 stars

Root Rot is an eerie eco-horror novella following a group of children on a family vacation at their late grandfather's property when their perceptions start to warp inexplicably. The children start to lose time, hallucinate and experience unnatural phenomena on the property. I went into this book mostly blind (because look at the cover!!) and I won't say too much about the plot because I think it's a good one to take it as it comes.

This book does two things to disorientate the reader, not naming characters and not following a clear passage of time so it's hard to tell how much time has passed at a few points. This definitely adds to the unsettling effect this book has and I thought it was executed well. The setting plays a huge role in this story and I thought it was atmospheric but not incredibly original, obviously acknowledging that there's only so much you can change up about an old estate but I would've liked something a bit fresher. The descriptions in this book are vivid and sometimes visceral. The way plants and nature are depicted is stunning and I could visualise most of the scenes quite easily.

As mentioned, the pacing is a bit cryptic which isn't a bad thing on its own, however I felt this book either needed to be a bit shorter or a bit longer which is kind of hard to elaborate on. It just felt a tad awkward overall because at times you're given so much depth and description, while other important parts feel glossed over, and I was left feeling like 'if you're going to divulge that much it should be even across the board'.

I think this is beautifully written even not being my preferred genre, and I definitely recommend it to those who read this kind of thing often. I think it just needed a little more editing.

The narrative in Root Rot is at times hard to follow with all of the nicknames and unsurety about what has and hasn't happened as the characters several times snap back to "reality"; whichever version of events that turns out to be.

I enjoyed the murky atmosphere created by Nislow but felt the reveal towards the end of the novella didn't fit and left me disappointed. Perhaps cutting that out and leaving this as a short story rather than a novella would have made this a 4 or 5 star for me.

I really wanted to get into this one, but I struggled with its structuring. I am still very thankful to the author -- Saskia Nislow, the publisher, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this one before March 25, 2025.

3.5 rounded up. Thank you to Creature Publishing and NetGalley for this book for me to review! Root Rot follows nine children visiting their grandfather's lake house as strange things begin to happy. This short novel packs a eerie and disturbing punch as readers try to understand what is real and what is not.

There were a few things that I really enjoyed about this. Firstly, the writing was incredibly atmospheric. Nislow does a great job at moving this story along while also maintaining the feelings of dread and unease that the characters are succumbing to. I also really enjoyed the personified setting. Truly the descriptions of the land and all the things that happen were the best characterized thing in this book. These aspects really saved the story for me.

I did not totally jive with the way Nislow has the characters unnamed outside of these descriptors like "The Crybaby" or "The Girl Twin." Because the story is so short I just felt so disconnected from them and the names played a huge part in that. I am sure that that was the point, but I just found it frustrating and difficult to connect to the themes of "predatory family dynamics" because I was so focused on that.

Overall, I think that this is a spooky and interesting read, but nothing to write home about. I really enjoyed the writing style and would love to read more by this author if I had some more time to connect with the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Creature Publishing for an ARC of Root Rot by Saskia Nislow in exchange for an honest review!

I am not normally into horror but was very intrigued by the synopsis of this novella. When 9 children travel to their grandfathers home things are definitely not what they seem. As each child succumbs to their fate, the liar must decide if she too will join them or set her own path.

This novella has stuck with me and I still think about the interesting anomalies throughout the book. A quick and interesting read. I did have some trouble with character names but also enjoyed that they didn't necessarily have 'names'.